Julio Canani (November 13, 1938 – February 5, 2021) was a Peruvian-born American

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in t ...

. He won three

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

races.

Biography

Canani emigrated to the United States in 1954, and settled in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

where he began working for racehorse trainer Tommy Doyle. In 1968, he obtained his trainer's license and over the next few years earned a reputation for developing claiming horses into

stakes race Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon ...

winners. In 1993, having won numerous major California races including the prestigious

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for old ...

, Canani took a break from racing until the spring of 1997 when he returned to operate the Nick Canani Racing Stable at

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...

. He went on to win the 1999 and 2001 editions of the

Breeders' Cup Mile The Breeders' Cup Mile is a Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's incept ...

and in 2004 the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a -mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt (although the distance has varied, depending on the configuration of the host track) for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the Uni ...

. Canani was afflicted with dementia in recent years. He died on February 5, 2021, at

Huntington Hospital Huntington Memorial Hospital is a 619-bed not-for-profit hospital in Pasadena, California. The official name of the hospital is Pasadena Hospital DBA (doing business as) Huntington Memorial Hospital, known locally as HMH, Huntington Memorial or ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. He was 82, and contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in the time leading up to his death.

References

Julio Canani's bio and statistics at Santa Anita Park

Julio Canani's bio and statistics at the NTRA

March 24, 2008 Bloodhorse.com article titled ''Perennial Visitor Canani is Unofficial Ambassador for Dubai''
1938 births 2021 deaths American racehorse trainers People from Pasco Region Peruvian emigrants to the United States Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in California {{US-horseracing-bio-stub